Mister Ed, a Palomino horse officially named Bamboo Harvester, was a
show and parade horse who was foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California.
His parents were The Harvester (Sire), a Saddlebred owned by Edna and
Jim Fagan; and Zetna, (Dam) who was sired by Antez, an Arabian imported
from Poland. Bamboo Harvester was trained by
Lester Hilton. Lester "Les"
Hilton had been apprenticed under
Will Rogers, and also worked with the
mules in the "Francis the Talking Mule" movies. Due to old-age
ailments, Bamboo Harvester was put to sleep in 1968. The producer of
the Mister Ed series never would answer the question of how the horse's
lips were made to move. There have been many theories over the years,
including the use of peanut butter, but none have been authenticated.
